The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, first published in 1949, is a widely acclaimed book on investing. Famous investor and billionaire Warren Buffett describes it as “by far the best book on investing ever written”[1], a sentiment echoed by other Graham disciples such as Irving Kahn and Walter Schloss.
Graham’s favourite allegory is that of Mr. Market, an obliging fellow who turns up every day at the share holder’s door offering to buy or sell his shares at a different price. Often, the price quoted by Mr. Market seems plausible, but sometimes it is ridiculous. The investor is free to either agree with his quoted price and trade with him, or to ignore him completely. Mr. Market doesn’t mind this, and will be back the following day to quote another price. The point is that the investor should not regard the whims of Mr. Market as determining the value of the shares that the investor owns. He should profit from market folly rather than participate in it. The investor is advised to concentrate on the real life performance of his companies and receiving dividends, rather than be too concerned with Mr. Market’s often irrational behaviour.
Book contents
2003 edition by Benjamin Graham and Jason Zweig
* Preface to the Fourth Edition, by Warren E. Buffett
* A Note About Benjamin Graham, by Jason Zweig
* Introduction: What This Book Expects to Accomplish
* Commentary on the Introduction
1. Investment versus Speculation: Results to Be Expected by the Intelligent Investor
2. The Investor and Inflation
3. A Century of Stock Market History: The Level of Stock Market Prices in Early 1972
4. General Portfolio Policy: The Defensive Investor
5. The Defensive Investor and Common Stocks
6. Portfolio Policy for the Enterprising Investor: Negative Approach
7. Portfolio Policy for the Enterprising Investor: The Positive Side
8. The Investor and Market Fluctuations
9. Investing in Investment Funds
10. The Investor and His Advisers
11. Security Analysis for the Lay Investor: General Approach
12. Things to Consider About Per-Share Earnings
13. A Comparison of Four Listed Companies
14. Stock Selection for the Defensive Investor
15. Stock Selection for the Enterprising Investor
16. Convertible Issues and Warrants
17. Four Extremely Instructive Case Histories
18. A Comparison of Eight Pairs of Companies
19. Shareholders and Managements: Dividend Policy
20. “Margin of Safety” as the Central Concept of Investment
